You Would Be My Entry Fee
by Mantichorus
Summary: A three-part WEWY Christmas fic. Neku, Shiki and Beat meet up to go Christmas shopping. Of course, things never run as smooth as they'd like... Rating due to minor profanites. Chapter 3 up.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Welcome to the first instalment of "You Would Be My Entry Fee", a World Ends With You Christmas fanfic - and, by some freak occurrence, my second Christmas fanfic this year. See, it's in three parts as I typed it all out and it came to... well, more than I expected. I felt that it was all fun, and as this isn't an actual script with budget limitations, I decided I'd post it all in instalments. =)_

_The second instalment will be on Tuesday, with the third and final part posted Christmas Eve. Of course, this does mean that some of you may find it in its completed state. However you find this, I hope you enjoy it and have a happy festive season._

_The only part of this that belongs to me is the notion for the story. The characters and brands belong to Square-Enix and Jupiter. Shibuya is an actual district in Tokyo, and I hear that you can find your way around with a knowledge of TWEWY._

* * *

**THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU CHRISTMAS FANFIC**

Neku stomped his feet, trying to keep some circulation going. As Beat had once pointed out, Shibuya was far enough south to not ice over at winter. But damn it, it was still cold!

His favoured top and shorts lay at home, waiting impatiently for the return of the warmer weather. In their place, he was wearing some Jupiter of the Monkey jeans and a Wild Boar parka (birthday presents from Shiki and Beat, respectively). He had somehow "lost" his Mus Rattus earmuffs (parents…).

He looked behind him at the ever-vigilant Hachiko. The plaza was quiet enough for him to consider talking aloud to the statue.

"So… another ten minutes you think, Hachi?" he asked, knowing for well he'd then decide to wait another ten minutes again if need be.

"Jeez, three-weeker, are you cracking up? Talking to a rock?"

Neku whirled at that voice. It was unmistakeable. "YOU?!"

Uzuki Yashiro was dressed a LOT more conservatively than when Neku had last seen her a few months ago. A knee length coat that looked to be Tigre Punks and some trousers covered up her usually bare legs and mid-drift.

"Well, yeah, duh," she said, absently flicking a strand of pink hair from her eyes. "Reapers do Christmas, too, y'know."

"But not the charity," another voice added. Neku peered past Uzuki to a walking pile of bags. A head popped around the pile. "Yo Phones." Koki Kariya was dressed more-or-less the same as always, excepting a scarf and earmuffs.

"Uhh, so you're in the RG…? Christmas shopping…? …Together…?" Neku said.

"HEY, what the hell?!" Uzuki snapped. "What's that tone for? 'Together'?! The hell does that mean, emo boy?!"

"She shot me down, man. Broken hearts an' all…" Kariya smirked.

"Traitorous bastard!" Uzuki said, without much venom. She began to walk off. "See if you get a present from me now!"

Kariya rolled his eyes, nodded to Neku and followed her. "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm carrying it right now, Uzuki…"

Neku stared after them and shook his head. Well, the guys from the UG were out doing their present shopping, huh? He'd best make sure he didn't run into many more.

"YO, PHONES!"

Neku whirled around, facing the station. "Yo yourself, Skulls," he grinned at Beat. The grin changed into a more sedate smile at the person trailing behind Beat. "Hey Shiki," he said.

"Hey Neku," Shiki smiled back. Shiki was wearing the latest winter fashion she had Eri had concocted, the two girls whipping up something that had some store clerks doing double takes. Ankle length fleece skirt with a design Neku had sketched for them (ripped whole-heartedly from some of CAT's graffiti on the way to the Room of Reckoning), a jacket with the toggles designed to represent different brands' logos… topped off by a matching set of gloves, hat and scarf with a Mr Mew motif.

Beat on the other hand was wearing the same CAT designed hat he always wore, along with some Wild Boar winter wear. "Jeez, can't remember the last winter Shibuya was this cold, yo," he said. "Think it's got something to do with me telling Pinky and Lollipop that Shibuya didn't get ice?"

"Hmm, I was remembering that earlier myself," Neku said. He then noticed something and frowned. "Hey, where's Rhyme?"

"Heh, took you long enough," Beat smirked. "She's started going down with this cold that's doin' the rounds. 'Rents refused to give her bail to tag along. They still a little uptight from… earlier this year, yeah?"

"Mmm, my mom's pretty much the same," Shiki agreed. "I mean, she doesn't say anything, but I can see it each time I go out the door."

"…Mine were much the same…" Neku admitted. "Until I just let slip I was going to meet up with my friends. They've seemed happier about it since then."

"Can't say I blame 'em," Beat said. "You're hardly the most egregious of guys. Knowing you're mixin' must be a load-off, y'know?"

"Egregious…?" Neku asked.

"Ha, I think he means 'gregarious'," Shiki said. "C'mon guys, this is the last Sunday before Christmas! We've got to get our shopping finished!"

_A/N: I hope to see you again on Tuesday for the second instalment! See you then._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Welcome back to "You Would Be My Entry Fee", a WEWY Christmas fanfic in three parts. Hopefully you liked the first chapter and that's why you're back. If you didn't like it... then I guess you're a masochist. Which is a viable lifestyle choice._

_But seriously, although there are no reviews, I've got a few favourite story e-mails for this, so I appreciate your support, guys. =)_

_So, Neku, Shiki and Beat are Christmas shopping. But it appears that so are some of the folks from the UG. Who will they run into? Read on to find out..._

* * *

"So, Beat, what've you gotten Rhyme?" Shiki asked, as they were pushing through the crowds just inside Ten-Four.

"Oh, the new album of Eiji Oji's. Ever since the Game, she's been a fan. Wonder if prissy-boy put her back right sometimes," Beat said. "Heh, even gave my folks the heads-up, so we didn't both get her the same thing, like last Christmas."

"Wow, cool!" Shiki said. "Neku, what did you get Rhyme?"

"Huh? Oh, uh…" Neku looked around at the crowd uncomfortably. "Just some pins."

"Yo, if it's the Eden's Door set, you'll make her --" Beat said, before…

"AAAAGGHH, NO, no it's not!!" Neku gasped. Shiki and Beat looked at each other and grinned. "Ugh…" Neku sighed. "What about you, Shiki?"

"Oh! Well, I…" Shiki smiled. "WHOA!" A busy shopper accidentally knocked her flying into Neku. Neku caught her and helped her regain her feet. Both were blushing.

"HEY!" Neku shouted. "Watch where the hell you're going!"

"Neku…" Shiki said quietly, embarrassed.

"Oh, I do not zetta believe this…" the shopper muttered. "Who screwed up my math?" Sho Minamimoto spared a pained glance back over his shoulder. "First, outer, inner, last. FOIL-ed again. Eh, one yoctogram of apologies, Miss Hectopascal." With that, the Reaper officer was gone.

####

"WHOO, pre-Christmas sale!" Shiki smiled, running into one clothes shop that had recently opened. Neku and Beat stared after her.

"What do we do, yo?" Beat asked.

"We follow her in, we'll never be seen again," Neku said. "I think we should take that as a signal to split up."

"Heh, suits me, yo," Beat smiled. "Wanna get a box of chocs for my folks. I'm gonna try that sweet shop over there." He pointed out the store in question.

"OK, cool," Neku nodded. "I'm gonna check out the AMX store that's just opened up in here. My dad's been after this one Red Hot Chilli Peppers album for forever, and I've set it as a task to try and find it this Christmas. I've already got him something, but…"

"No, tha's cool!" Beat grinned. "See ya back here in thirty, yeah?"

####

Shiki was dimly aware that the guys had split off, but she wasn't too worried. She knew Ten-Four better than any of them: if it came to tracking them down, she'd have the advantage.

She gasped as she saw _the cutest_ Lapin Angelique dress off to one side. Eri had said she'd wanted a gothic-loli dress for inspiration, and the seamstress in Shiki just wanted to play with that dress. There was so much she could do with it, and if Eri added her input…

A blonde woman picked the dress up. She looked to be in her mid twenties or so, but Shiki thought the dress was too young for her. Plus, she wanted it.

Shiki decided to try appealing to the woman - although, if it was a present for a niece or someone, she would step back. "Um, excuse me please?"

The woman turned to look at her, and Shiki felt a shock of recognition at the hard glasses covering harder eyes.

"AAAH, Ms. Konishi!" she gasped.

The senior Reaper tilted her glasses down her nose in puzzlement. "Have we met, young lady?" Then enlightenment appeared in her eyes. "Ahh, that tone… a former Player," she said. "Do you want this dress, perchance?"

"Ahh… yes? Please?" Shiki said.

####

Neku flipped through the CDs at AMX, annoyance building. One, the crowd was growing steadily. Two, they didn't have the CD he was looking for. Three, he'd just seen a Def Märch CD that he just had to get for Shiki, but there was this poser in the way.

"Hey, excuse me, please," Neku said, managing to keep the aggression out of his voice. The man turned around. Neku groaned. "You know, this kind of figures. Hey, Mr. Kitaniji."

The Conductor smiled pleasantly at Neku, forcing the teen to remember that his Noise form was a giant serpent. "Why, Sakuraba! How are you enjoying Shibuya's new order?"

"The management's the same still, right?" Neku asked. Megumi nodded in confirmation. "Well, the new order's much like the old one. But I've grown, so I appreciate it more."

Kitaniji nodded. "And that is the point of the Game," he said. "Now, which CD was it you were after?"

####

Beat sighed as he looked around the confectionary store. It all looked pretty classy to him, and much of it was outside his price range. Plus, the store clerks were giving him suspicious looks.

Beat was aware of a shadow looming over him. "Excuse me, young man. I need to get to those sweets… the sweet taste of success," a voice said.

Beat looked over his shoulder. "Gah! You?! Weren't you the GM that Shiki and Phones thrashed?"

Yodai Higashizawa smiled indulgently. "Indeed. And you were the third Player who survived, weren't you? The leftovers."

"Leftovers? Ha, I'ma show you leftovers. But not here, yo. Shopping for summin' for my folks, yeah?" Beat said.

Higashizawa went silent. "Then, we are here for the same reason. Please, move aside. I wish to get that piece of confectionary for my mother."

_A/N: Join us again on Christmas Eve for the concluding part of the story!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: a happy Christmas Eve to you all, and welcome to the final part of "You Would Be My Entry Fee". I hope you've enjoyed our time together and enjoyed the company of myself and the cast of "The World Ends With You". I'd like to hear your feedback on what you've thought of all this - who knows? There may be a sequel of sorts next year. if you guys like it enough._

_I wonder how many of you have guessed the significance of the title? Hmm, well, let's see. =) I hope you all have a great 2010._

* * *

The three friends had met up again, and were recovering from the shopping at Ramen Don. Business was booming after the Prince had F'd the place in his blog. However, Ken Doi recognised Neku and waved them over to a spare table, and gave them a free bowl of ramen each.

When they offered to pay, he laughed. "Hey, I can afford it. Besides, I got a feeling you kids are part of the chalk that's currently filling my slate. So, merry Christmas!"

"You wouldn't buh-lieve the day I've had," Shiki sighed.

"You'd be surprised," Neku said.

"Yeah, ditto," Beat said. "After seeing Pi Face, I was kinda surprised to see Ram Crotch in the sweet shop. He was only buying summin' for his ma, yo."

"Yeah?" Shiki smiled. "We must have swapped GMs. I bumped into the Iron Maiden - we both wanted the same dress. She didn't recognise me at first, but when I reminded her after she'd given me the dress by mentioning you guys, she screamed something about chimp logic and stormed off."

"BWAH-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Beat laughed, drawing a few glances from other tables. "So, Phones, who else'd you see?"

"Kariya and Uzuki while waiting for you guys at Hachiko," Neku said. "Then, Kitaniji in AMX."

There were a few gasps from some of the tables by the window, "oh my!" and "wouldja look at that!"

"Hey, what's happening?" Beat asked. Shiki had already stood up to look over the heads of the other patrons, and was laughing joyously.

"Guys… it's snowing!" she gasped. "Snow! In Shibuya!"

####

Up on the rooftop of Pork City, a man poured coffee from a thermos flask into two cups, before closing the flask. He glanced at his companion. "Hey, your coffee's gonna get cold. And, don't you think this is all a little… gratuitous?"

The teenaged boy with him stretched out his hands to catch the falling flakes. "It's their world, like you reminded me. But, this is My city. Just once, just this year, it will snow in Shibuya for Christmas." He turned and smiled. "Don't you think that's a nice Christmas present for them, Mr H.?"

Sanae Hanekoma smiled, and looked down at the three teenagers leaving the ramen shop and joining the wondrous crowd below. "Yeah, it's a great present, Joshua. Hell, after the crapola We put them through… well, it's the least they deserve."

Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu sat down next to Hanekoma, and sipped at his coffee. "Exactly. Although, I now kinda wish I hadn't given all the Reapers today off for their Christmas shopping. There could have been some awkward moments."

"Well, exactly," Hanekoma agreed. "But, hey, they're all alive, right? And… hey… what the…? Why has Shiki got one of my designs on that dress? That isn't a Gatito brand dress!"

####

"HE~~~EY, Be~~eat!"

"WHAT THE FUH -- Rhyme?! Yo, Sis, whatchu doing out?!" Beat asked.

Rhyme laughed out the car window, before suppressing a sneeze. "I managed to convince Dad to let me come with him to pick you up!" She looked past Beat. "Hey Neku, hey Shiki."

"Hey Rhyme," Neku smiled.

"Hope you're better soon!" Shiki added.

"Not too soon," Rhyme laughed. "I'm hoping to get an extra week off school after the holidays."

"Now, Raimu, that's not the attitude," her father lightly scolded her. "Come on, Daisukenojo, let's get you home."

"BWAAAAHHHH! Dad, thought I asked you and mom not to call me that out on the street!" Beat pleaded, as he got in the car.

"Oh, don't be silly," his father laughed. "Neku and… Shiki, was it? Well, I hope the two of you will be given and accept an invitation for dinner soon."

"That… would be nice, Mr. Bito," Neku said.

"Yeah," Shiki agreed. "Oh, and safe driving, sir!"

The friends said their goodbyes, and the Bito family car drove away.

Shiki sighed, her breath steaming in the air. "Well, my dad will be along shortly to collect me, too."

"Where's he collecting you from?" Neku asked.

"Huh? Oh, the station. Why--?"

"I'm bussing back home, so I'm going that way anyhow," he said. "C'mon, I'll walk you there."

"Neku… um… gosh," Shiki said, and brushed a strand of hair out from her face.

"Shiki? What's wrong?" Neku asked, taking a step towards her.

"Well… you know what they say about Christmas. How it's the time for…" Shiki hesitated. She tried again. "I mean, since we finished the Game, these last few months with Eri, Beat, Rhyme… you… it's been…"

"…Shiki…?"

"Neku… What I'm trying to say is, if we were to play the Game again…"

~THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU CHRISTMAS FANFIC,

"YOU WOULD BE MY ENTRY FEE", END.


End file.
